There is a saying that experience is the best teacher, and the best experience is travel. There are so many reasons we love to travel; to see new sites, experience new cultures, and embed ourselves in new communities. While travel can be one of the most meaningful ways to connect with the greater world around us, it can often come with less than friendly environmental impacts.
At Park City Lodging, we have developed several initiatives to help our guests to travel sustainably. One of the most impactful changes a hotel or vacation rental provider can make is to switch to bulk amenities. Park City Lodging offers 17oz. amenities, replacing 55,000 single use plastic bottles from production each year. Another impactful endeavor that businesses in every industry can explore is the 1% model for donations to local nonprofits. This can mean something different for each business: for PCL, our guests opt-in to donating $1/night to the Summit Land Conservancy, but it can be as simple as $0.10 per sale or even offering a donation bucket at the place of business for travelers to connect with the local community in a meaningful way. We also provide reusable grocery bags to guests upon check in, helping to keep plastic bag usage down within our community and shifting behavior for travelers upon returning to their own communities.
When searching for lodging accommodations during your next vacation, don’t be afraid to ask about sustainability practices, the industry is driven by consumers so the louder we are, the more impact we can have.
Heleena Sideris, Park City Lodging
